James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

CG Art

Contact

or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

Permissions

All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Thank you for mentioning Tony D., creator of Spiderwick. He is the maestro, and a good friend. I could not help but think of his work, and also our mutual hero, Arthur Rackham, who is the king of seeing faces in gnarled trees.

I believe what you've drawn there is a boggle. Related to the bogle and boggart and bogeyman, but they live specifically in wetland marshes. We have very few of them left, since the fenland was mostly drained for farming, but there are still a few in the east of England.